A camera device with a pan head is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-4319 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-40553. A camera device with a pan head which is disclosed in these references is used as a monitor camera by, e.g., attaching its pan head to a wall surface.
Generally, a camera device with a pan head is designed to be used in an installed state, and accordingly its shape is not always suited for carrying. For example, to rotate the camera in a panning direction, an upright rotatable member is attached to a base as a stationary portion, and the camera is mounted on the upright rotatable member. When a camera device with a pan head of this type is to be carried, as the member where the camera is mounted is upright on the pan head, the camera device cannot be stored in a bag or the like at all and is bulky.
Along with the downsizing of a CCD image sensing device in recent years, as a camera device with a pan head which is used as it is placed on a table, one that can be carried easily and can be used as it is placed at a desired place is sought after.
The camera device with the pan head as described above has a rotating mechanism for rotating the camera. Generally, the center shaft portion of the rotating mechanism is fixed to a rotary portion connected to the camera. When the camera rotates, the center shaft portion also rotates.
In an arrangement as described above in which the rotating shaft portion rotates, cables extend through a hollow portion formed in the rotating shaft portion. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-4319 mentioned above discloses a structure in which cables simply extend through a hollow portion in the rotating shaft. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-40553 discloses a cable accommodating unit in which cables are spirally accommodated in a hollow portion so that any twist of the cables extending through the hollow portion may be eliminated. An arrangement in which the rotating shaft does not rotate together with the camera is also sought for as in a case wherein the central portion of the rotating shaft is fixed to a tripod or the like. If the rotating shaft does not rotate in this manner, the arrangement of the prior art cannot be employed.
In view of the problems of the prior art described above, for example, when a camera device with a pan head is formed, realization of a pan head apparatus that can provide an easy-to-carry device is sought after.
It is also desired to provide a cable accommodating structure which is suitable to a case wherein a rotating mechanism that does not rotate the rotating shaft with respect to the base portion is employed.